1. Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to file sharing systems and methods and particularly relate an identity management method and system for managing and confirming one or more user identities for data sharing. The embodiments herein more particularly relate to a federated identity resolution management method and system for providing access to encrypted data files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data sharing is the practice of making data available for others to reuse the data. Now a days data sharing among the people or among organizations is unavoidable to make the business, for scholarly research, entertainment and many other purposes.
The security of shared data has always been a difficult task. To protect data, one type of security procedure involves encrypting the data, so that even if the data falls into the wrong hands, it cannot be read without a key. Many application level programs provide some form of such encryption. Subsequently, the files maintained in the shared directory may be encrypted.
With proliferation of AKM based encryption that decouples Encryption from Authentication, we can envisage an end user with many encrypted files associated with many application servers. A file encapsulates information of the server that it is associated with and a client can use the information to communicate with a specific server. However for a recipient of an encrypted file, it would become difficult to keep track of the file sources and to use different authentication credentials for different files, given the fact that a recipient may be known to different senders b different identities.
Therefore there is a need for a method and system which provides for access to encrypted data files to users with different identities. Further there is a need for a federated identity resolution and management system which works in conjunction with an AKM infrastructure.
The abovementioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein and which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.